1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component in which an outer electrode is included on a bottom surface thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, a shielded multilayer electronic component (hereafter, simply referred to as “electronic component”) disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-121093 is known as an example of an invention relating to an electronic component of the related art. FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of an electronic component 500 disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-121093.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the electronic component 500 includes a main body 502, a ground electrode 504 and an outer electrode 506. The main body 502 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The outer electrode 506 is provided on a bottom surface of the main body 502 and is folded over so as to slightly extend onto side surfaces of the main body 502. The ground electrode 504 is provided on surfaces of the main body 502 other than the bottom surface of the main body 502 (in other words, the upper surface and the four side surfaces). Furthermore, the ground electrode 504 is physically connected to the outer electrode 506. Thus, when the outer electrode 506 is connected to the ground potential, the ground electrode 504 is maintained at the ground potential via the outer electrode 506. Consequently, a high shielding effect can be obtained in the electronic component 500.
However, it is difficult to mount the electronic component 500 disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-121093 on a circuit board so as to be close to other electronic components. In more detail, in the electronic component 500, the ground electrode 504 is physically connected to the outer electrode 506. Consequently, as illustrated in FIG. 7, when the electronic component 500 is mounted on a circuit board, solder wets the outer electrode 506 and the ground electrode 504 provided on the side surfaces of the main body 502. Therefore, when the electronic component 500 and another electronic component are mounted on a circuit board, it is necessary that the electronic component 500 and the other electronic component be arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other such that the solder attached to the electronic component 500 does not contact the other electronic component.